How can Tesco’s be “Unscalable?”-First lesson/research task into companies in different markets

Why does a global company like Tesco’s want to withdraw from such a large marketplace such as Japan? Tesco to leave Japan

As usual I have left planning to the last minute. Tesco’s announcement to sell out of Japan would be an excellent discussion topic for GCSE or AS. For A2 this could be developed further and looking at companies who have succeeded in Japan and those that have failed.

Students could also look and report back to other global companies such as IKEA who have had to change strategies to succeed in the US and Japanese market.
Students could research Japans food retail markets and report the players/trends.
Good plenary to consider what “scalable” is and its relationship to economies of scale.
Finally – is it worth Tesco’s investing more in America or is there a lack of cultural fit in their business model for the US market?